August  27

Lyndon Baines Johnson's Birthday
 

Lyndon Baines Johnson was the thirty-sixth President of the United States (1963–1969) when he succeeded to the presidency following Kennedy's assassination. Kennedy chose Johnson, a Texas senator and political rival as his vice-president, running mate in 1960  o  to guarantee that he would win Texas. Ironically when Jacqueline Kennedy sat down with historian Arthur Schlesinger, to record a series of interviews about her experiences as first lad., she commented, "Jack said it to me sometimes. He said, 'Oh, God, can you ever imagine what would happen to the country if Lyndon were president?"'

Lyndon Johnson , or LBJ as he was often called, was the spiritual heir of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal, the logical extension of which was his Great Society. Under Johnson's leadership  Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in July 1964 After a delay of over 100 years this act created federal law in support of the original purpose of the 14th Amendment, equal treatment under the laws for blacks and whites. This act outlawed racial discrimination in employment, voting, education and public accommodation. Johnson also encouraged the passing of the Anti-Poverty Act (1964) that provided $947.5 million dollars for job training centers, and loans to poor students and low-income farmers.  When LBJ signed the 1965 Civil Rights Act he made a prophecy that he was “signing away the south for 50 years”. This proved accurate. In fact, the Democrats have never recovered the vote of the white racists in the Deep South. The tragic debacle of the Viet Nam marred what would have been one of our most brilliant presidencies.

 LBJ was a rural man and one of the things that he shared with other rural people was a love of the land, of farming, of hunting, and ranching ranching. He enjoyed the camaraderie of everyone, friends and strangers alike, regardless of their wealth or status. He loved his ranch in the Pedernales valley of Texas and was always more comfortable there than in the White House. He was especially fond of his two daughters , and once commented, "I'm the luckiest man alive. None of my girls drinks or smokes or takes dope and they both married fine men."

The cover story profile of Lyndon Baines Johnson in the March 17, 1958 Time Magazine opened with "Lyndon Johnson's mental alarm clock went off just before 7 o'clock. He swept his long black hair out of his eyes, smoothed it over the thinning area on top of his head. Then he pushed the bedside buzzer for Cook Zephyr Wright to bring up his tomato juice, pink Texas grapefruit, venison sausage (made from a deer Johnson shot last fall) and half a cup of Sanka."

Venison sausage was one of several Johnson's  recipes that he loved making especially when entertaining friends. He loved entertaining at his ranch, inviting almost everyone, including foreign ministers, heads of state, fellow ranchers, and even the Washington press core.  Johnson loved to throw barbeques for the larger gatherings, but with  the smaller groups, he would serve them his home made chili, often served with a side bowl of jalapeño peppers.  He would make his signature venison sausage in 200 lb batches, packaged in small boxes, and distributed to his friends at Christmas. Venison was a common staples of the LBJ ranch is because of the ranch's large deer population and Johnson's lover of deer hunting.

So for LBJ's birthday, his recipe venison sausage is an appropriate remembrance while watching the TV documentary The American Experience (1991) in which he is featured.

 

LBJ's Venison Sausage

1. Wash out and dry casings.
2. Cut venison, pork, and fat into 1/2 inch chunks and pass through the course blade on a meet grinder.
   Combine ground meet with salt and spices.
3. Cut casings into two 6-inch lengths. Stuff and tie sausages
4. Preheat over to 400º F.
5. Place uncut sausages in a large skillet with about 3/4 cup water. Bake 10 minutes. Remove skillet from over. Turn sausages and bake another 10 minutes. Remove and serve